A video showing two alleged bag thieves getting the shit kicked out of them by an angry mob in the Padang Padang area has been shared thousands of times since it was posted to Facebook yesterday.
It turns out that the two guys, accused of snatching a bag from a foreigner, are just teenagers in SMP (Indonesian junior high school)!.
The two have been identified in a Tribun Bali report by initials DW, 15, and PT, 16. Both have reportedly been referred to Sanglah Hospital in Denpasar because of their severe condition. Watching the brutal beating in the video, we have to say we are surprised they even survived the mob.
And as if it wasn’t enough “street justice” to beat the two alleged thieves within an inch of their lives—the angry mob also burnt the Scoopy motorbike they had been riding to a crisp.
On the other hand, the French woman whose bag had been snatched by the teens is reluctant to be interviewed as a witness by Kuta Police, according to Tribun Bali. Not that we blame her. It was probably already upsetting enough to have her bag taken in the first place, only for her to have to witness this erruption.
There’s of course no talk yet of even going after the people who administered the street justice, as that’s unfortunatley the norm here for maling (thieves).
If you missed it, here’s the video again of the commotion yesterday. Warning: Contains violence.
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